reporter

American  

[ri-pawr-ter, -pohr-] / rɪˈpɔr tər, -ˈpoʊr- /

noun

1. a person who reports.

2. a person employed to gather and report news, as for a newspaper, wire service, or television station.

3. a person who prepares official reports, as of legal or legislative proceedings.

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reporter British  

/ rɪˈpɔːtə /

noun

1. a person who reports, esp one employed to gather news for a newspaper, news agency, or broadcasting organization

2. a person, esp a barrister, authorized to write official accounts of judicial proceedings

3. a person authorized to report the proceedings of a legislature

4. social welfare an official who arranges and conducts children's panel hearings and who may investigate cases and decide on the action to be taken

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Etymology

Origin of reporter

1350–1400; Middle English reportour < Anglo-French ( Old French reporteur ). See report, -er ¹

Explanation

A reporter is a journalist who goes out and gets the scoop on the news and informs the rest of us. If there’s a news conference or a train crash, a reporter is probably there getting the lowdown. If you want to be a reporter one day, you might study journalism in college, learning to write accurate and informative stories. Many reporters research, write, and edit articles about politics or current events, but you could also be a pop culture reporter or a tech reporter. The newspaper sense of reporter dates from 1798 — earlier it simply meant "one who gives an account."

Example Sentences

Previously, Olivia reported for the Hill, where she covered House-led investigations and was the outlet's lead reporter during the first impeachment of then-President Donald Trump.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

During a brief phone call, Shakil told the undercover reporter he had to be fearing persecution to claim asylum and did not appear to have any grounds to do so.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

Ms. Landro joined the New York bureau of the Journal in 1981 as a reporter covering the entertainment, cable and publishing industries and was named marketing and media editor in May 1991.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Times reporter August Brown contributed to this report, which includes information from the Associated Press.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

The interview continues back and forth with the reporter getting increasingly frustrated and the FBI agent refusing to say anything interesting.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• columnist
• correspondent
• editor
• interviewer
• journalist
• writer